Trying to Keep Pace with Supply Chain Disruption?

"In other words, one integrated solution connects top floor planning with plant floor production. And closes the loop from customers through suppliers."

By removing organizational silos and unifying your business, the solution delivers the visibility you need to optimize inventory – and establish both strategic and tactical objectives. In other words, you will have ready answers to critical questions regarding both expected sales and the means to fulfill them – right down to tactical day-to-day execution.

Preparing for Success

A connected approach to supply chain planning can have a dramatic impact on the bottom-line performance of your business. For example, this leading manufacturer of dry spices reduced inventory levels by 20% and maintains nearly 99% on-time, in-full deliveries.

But a successful implementation is contingent on a few key requirements:

• Establish clarity on what you can and can’t accomplish across the organization.
  I like to say “wishful thinking is not a tactic.” You must have a clear understanding of the business’ capabilities to meet your customer demand requirements.
  
  
• Ensure all planning data is accurate and accepted.
  It may go without saying, but the adage “garbage in, garbage out” certainly applies here.
  
  
• Keep attributes used in planning grounded in reality.
  Many companies incorrectly set lead times to zero, which, from a planning perspective, assumes inventory will magically appear when needed. In reality, that can’t be further from the truth – especially in today’s environment. Defining inventory requirements and your true supply chain capabilities are critical to avoiding “stock-out” and late delivery scenarios.
  
  
• Account for uncertainty and planning errors.
  In periods of great uncertainty and disruption, accurate planning is difficult. But the question isn’t “were you wrong” – it’s the degree to which you were wrong. If you understand the degree of error, you can identify means to reduce its impact, such as building inventory buffers.
  
  
• Accept that not all customers and products should be treated the same.
  Remember the 80/20 Rule. When faced with limited options, the significant few trumps the trivial many.
  
  
• Accept that manufacturing excellence can’t be achieved in isolation.
  Time and again, we’ve seen that organizations that work cross-functionally across the supply chain and with their customers achieve positive outcomes – even in uncertain times. 

Learn more about how you can adopt a digital supply chain planning solution – and unleash your business potential.